CommonFund Institute White Paper on Responsible Investing
The recently released white paper, "From SRI to ESG: Changing the World of Responsible Investing," reviews the principal categories and history of responsible investing. It discusses why socially-responsible investing (SRI), environmental, social and governance investing (ESG), mission-related investing and impact investing have grown in importance for institutional investors.
New AASHE blog: Getting Ready for STARS 2.0
AASHE is finalizing its release of STARS 2.0, the first major update to STARS since it was launched in January 2010. STARS 2.0 is meant to “facilitate more meaningful assessments of campus sustainability performance while remaining accessible and relevant to the diversity of higher education institutions.” This blog aims to provide the campus community with everything needed to take advantage of the new and improved version.
Collegiate Game Changers Report by NRDC
The Natural Resources Defense Council recently released the second athletics greening report, which catalogs the sustainable initiatives taking place throughout North American college and university sports departments. Reported initiatives include energy efficiency, renewable energy, recycling, composting, water conservation, safer chemicals, ecologically preferable transportation, and green building practices.
Free E-waste Recycling for Colleges and Universities
The recently launched electronic waste recycling program, COLLECTED by FundingFactory, enables higher education institutions to exchange e-waste for cash or rewards, while preventing millions of pounds of harmful waste from reaching landfills.
New STARS Annual Review
Providing a look back and a look ahead at AASHE's STARS, this review covers notable achievements in the past year including the submission of the 300th STARS report, and a glimpse at what's in store with the upcoming release of the new and improved STARS 2.0.
Expanded Guide to Implementing & Managing Green Revolving Funds
This newly expanded publication from the Sustainable Endowments Institute, released in partnership with AASHE and other organizations, provides practical advice for designing, implementing and managing a green revolving fund at a college, university or other nonprofit institution.
New AASHE Annual Review of Higher Education Sustainability
Highlighting innovative and high-impact campus sustainability achievements at more than 40 institutions, this review looks at new developments, changing dynamics and areas of prevalence among AASHE Bulletin submissions in 2012. This bird's eye view of higher education sustainability reveals affordability and access and sustainable investment as key focus areas, as well as new evolutions in the areas of curriculum, research, funding and staffing.
New AASHE Guide: Promoting Sustainable Campus Landscapes
Released in collaboration with the Arbor Day Foundation, this new publication is intended for anyone on campus who is interested in developing and delivering sustainable landscape programs to the public. The guide covers how to engage others, provide training, publicize projects, identify benefits and gain recognition for sustainable campus landscape initiatives.
New Website: Rio+20 Treaty on Higher Education
Developed with the involvement of more than 30 international and national higher education associations, agencies and students groups, the Rio+20 Treaty on Higher Education launched in June 2012 and now has more than 80 signatories. This new website provides information about the treaty process, recent developments and commitments made by signatories.
New Issue of Sustainability: Journal of Record
The latest issue, focused on art and sustainability, includes an editorial about art, local food and urban gardening, a "Sustainability and Art Making" commentary, program profile "Arts and Sustainability in the Berea College New Deep Green Student Residence," and "Sustainable Art and Human Systems" research.
New Issue: Int'l Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education
The latest issue features research papers titled "Communicating sustainability: a content analysis of website communications in the United States" and "Is 'Being Green' a determinant of participation in University sustainability initiatives?" as well as case studies from the University of the Aegean and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
New Issue: Journal of Sustainability Education
The two-part, spring 2013 issue focused on experiential education includes "Supporting STEM in Learning Gardens in Low-Income Schools" and "The Climate and Development Lab: An Experiment in Engaged Education for Global Just Sustainability" case studies, as well as a look at outdoor adventure and watershed-based education.
AASHE 2013 Conference Program
This year's program is featured in a new grid format, allowing visitors to search by session type, speakers and delivery models. AASHE 2013: Resiliency & Adaptation will feature more than 550 presentations including workshops, panel discussions, case studies, films, and networking opportunities by topic interest.
New Book: 'The Sustainable University: Progress and Prospects'
Examining the experience of 10 higher education institutions in the U.K., the latest in the Routledge Studies in Sustainable Development series maps out new directions and lines of research that address the integrative whole institutional response to sustainability including governance and leadership, research, learning and teaching, campus operations, community relations, well being, student experience, and organizational learning and change. The book also provides a critical analysis of barriers, achievements, strategies and potential for the higher education sustainability community.
New USGBC Campus Implementation Workbook
This U.S. Green Building Council workbook is designed to assist higher education campus teams with creating a green existing buildings program, implementing the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance rating system at the campus and building level, and establishing a culture of performance.
Ecotech Institute Clean Jobs Index
This new index from the Ecotech Institute allows users to search by state to find green jobs, alternative fueling stations, LEED projects and total energy consumption. This infographic of key findings from the index reveals 749,197 clean jobs in the U.S. between January 1-March 31, 2013.
'Women in Community Colleges: Access to Success'
This report by the American Association of University Women looks at the role of community colleges in women’s education including challenges women face in completing a certificate or degree, or in transferring to a four-year institution. Recommendations to strengthen community colleges for all students are included.
Archived AASHE Webinar: Implementation Strategies for Campus GRFs
The webinar offers an overview of a new publication by SEI and AASHE - Green Revolving Funds: An Introductory Guide to Implementation and Management - and a road map and tips on starting and managing such funds, with examples from Agnes Scott College and the University of New Hampshire. AASHE, in partnership with SEI, has made a recording of this webinar and the PPT slides available to the public.
New Issue of Sustainability: Journal of Record
The latest issue of Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.'s Sustainability: The Journal of Record features “Asia Pulp & Paper Aims for Higher Standards of Sustainability with a Zero Deforestation Policy,” an editorial by Ian Lifshitz; “Connecticut’s Lead By Example Green Campus Initiative” by Ted Mero; and “Lessons on the Landscape: Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College” Laura S. Meitzner Yoder, among other articles.
Princeton Review Releases 2013 Guide to Green Schools
The Princeton Review, in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council, has released its annual guide to the greenest institutions in North America. The resource profiles 320 higher education institutions that demonstrate notable commitments to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities and career preparation. The free publication includes statistics and facts on each institution's use of renewable energy sources, recycling and conservation programs, availability of environmental studies programs and green jobs career guidance.
AASHE Guest Blog: Helpful Support Increases Impact
This latest guest blog features Susan Powers, director of sustainability for Clarkson University. She shares the university’s experience of participating in Focus the Nation’s Forums-to-Action framework and the support it provided to help develop students’ leadership skills.
AASHE Debuts Academic Programs Database
AASHE has transformed the various lists of academic programs related to sustainability into an interactive database. AASHE's Academic Program database currently contains 1335 sustainability-focused and related academic programs at 450 campuses in 62 states and provinces with the ability for new submissions and updates from website visitors. The database allows browsing by degree type and discipline along with advanced search features.
UC Berkeley Publishes Greek Energy Savings Competition Guide
The university's PowerSave Campus program and The Green Initiative Fund have published a guide to direct student groups through the process of creating and running energy-savings competitions within college or university Greek systems. The guide is based on Green Cup, a Greek energy-savings competition at the university.
Clean Air-Cool Planet, Sightlines Debut Campus Carbon Calculator
Clean Air-Cool Planet and Sightlines have launched Carbon Map, the new web-based Campus Carbon Calculator. The Carbon Management and Analysis Platform enables campuses to create a greenhouse gas baseline, benchmark performance, set goals and analyze progress.
New Issue of Sustainability: Journal of Record
The latest issue of Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.'s Sustainability: The Journal of Record features “Redefining Sustainability—or Practicing What We Preach,” an editorial by Fedele Bauccio; “The Living Landscape: Georgia Institute of Technology Transforms Its Campus into a Learning Laboratory of Sustainability” by Ted Mero; and “Building the Future: The Solar Decathlon as Education for Future Sustainability Leadership” by Maruja Torres-Antonini, among other articles.
AASHE Debuts Campus Sustainability Revolving Loan Funds Database
AASHE with support from the Sustainable Endowments Institute (SEI) has released a new Campus Sustainability Revolving Loan Funds database. The database reveals higher education as a leading sector for energy efficiency investments with revolving loan-funded energy efficiency improvements totaling over $117 million at nearly 80 institutions. The database provides detailed information about successful funds and allows for contributions from visitors. To learn more and contribute to this resource, visit the database.
AASHE 'Presidential Voices' Interview Series
AASHE has launched a "Presidential Voices" Interview Series featuring conversations with inspiring sustainability leaders who play unique roles as heads of their higher education institutions and offer valuable insights into the process of advancing sustainability. A recent interview with Wim Wiewel, President of Portland State University, is the second in the series, which kicked off with President James H. Mullen at Allegheny College. Please send suggestions of outstanding presidents and chancellors who should be interviewed to judy@aashe.org.
Platform for Sustainability Performance in Education
The Platform for Sustainability Performance in Education brings together AASHE alongside six additional international organizations which have created sustainability assessment tools designed to support universities and colleges around the world. The purpose of this platform is to promote sustainability assessment in education.
New Journal of Sustainability Education Issue
The Winter 2013 issue of the Journal of Sustainability Education, a peer-reviewed, open access interdisciplinary e-journal from the Institute for Sustainable Social Change, is themed "A Smorgasbord of Sustainability." Content includes “Higher Education: Features, Trends and Needs in Relation to Sustainability” and “The Greening of the Language Arts: Considering Sustainability Outside of the Science Classroom.”
Green Revolving Funds: A Guide to Implementation & Management
AASHE and the Sustainable Endowments Institute have released a joint publication that provides practical guidance for designing, implementing, and managing a green revolving fund (GRF) at a college, university, or other institution. The 27-page guide, supported by 14 organizations and 7 funders, also contains information on the Billion Dollar Green Challenge and related resources, and offers 10 steps to a successful GRF.
New Report: Building a Carbon-Free Portfolio
College-endowment managers who resist the growing call to divest their holdings in fossil-fuel companies may be doing so for little or no financial reason, according to a new report. An analysis released by the Aperio Group, an investment-management firm that offers its clients a “socially responsible index,” among other investment strategies, found that while divesting from fossil-fuel companies does not necessarily add value to a portfolio, it does not subtract value from it either, and it increases the risk to investors at such a modest level as to be negligible.
AASHE Blog: 'Presidential Voices' Interview Series
An interview with President James H. Mullen at Allegheny College marks the launch of AASHE's "Presidential Voices" Interview Series, featuring conversations with inspiring sustainability leaders who play unique roles and offer valuable insights as heads of their higher education institutions. Please send suggestions of outstanding presidents and chancellors you would like to see interviewed to judy@aashe.org.
A Guide to Quality Education for Sustainability in Higher Ed
(U.K.): This resource is an attempt to make connections between education for sustainability and the practice of quality assurance and enhancement in the higher education curriculum. The University of Gloucestershire, working in collaboration with the UK Quality Assurance Agency and in partnership across a consortium with four other English higher education institutions, led the project.
Ecotech Institute Debuts Clean Jobs Index
(U.S.): The institute has made available a comprehensive database that provides information, via interactive maps, on clean jobs and various sustainability factors that affect them in the U.S., by state. Some of these factors include: renewable energy consumption, state incentives, LEED projects, air quality and alternative fueling stations.
New AASHE 2013 Blog: Greenest City in the Southeast
The first post in the new AASHE 2013 Blog explains why we chose Nashville as the host city for AASHE 2013: Resiliency & Adaptation. Befitting of this year's theme, Nashville is part of the U.S. Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement, has a comprehensive strategy to ensure consistent access to an affordable, sustainable and nutritious food system, and features a new residential energy efficiency program that provides free in-home energy evaluations and other financial incentives to Nashville homeowners.
New Report: Knocking at the College Door
By the year 2020, minority students will account for 45 percent of the nation's public high-school graduates, up from 38 percent in 2009, according to new projections by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. The updated report includes national, regional, and state-by-state projections for graduates of public and private high schools through 2027-28, revealing the enrollment challenges colleges must adapt to.
AASHE Blog: Ways to Integrate Sustainability into the Curriculum
This article, reposted with permission from the Residence Earth blog by Clara Changxin Fang, Sustainability and Campus Planning Manager at Towson University, presents 10 ways that sustainability can be integrated into the curriculum to help build ecological awareness for students, staff, and faculty.
DOE Launches Web Tool to Explore Pathways to Clean Energy Economy
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced a new interactive online tool to help researchers, educators, and students explore future U.S. energy-use scenarios. The interactive Buildings, Industry, Transportation, and Electricity Scenarios (BITES) tool allows users to adjust inputs, such as electricity generation and transportation fuel use, to compare outcomes and impacts on carbon dioxide emissions and the U.S. energy mix.
EPEAT to Launch Standard for Printers, Copiers
The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) has announced plans to launch a new standard that covers printers, copiers, fax machines, multifunction devices, digital duplicators, and mailing machines. Ratings will be available to purchasers this month.
AASHE Releases Winter STARS Quarterly Review
The winter 2012 edition of the STARS Quarterly Review series highlights evolutions in campus sustainability and changes that can be expected with the launch of STARS 2.0 in 2013. The fourth and final installment also spotlights Universidad de Monterrey (Mexico) as the first STARS International Pilot participant to submit a STARS report and earn a rating.
Sustainable Endowments Institute Releases Case Studies
The Sustainable Endowments Institute released the first of a series of white papers that investigates three aspects of green revolving fund (GRF) management and focus: student-led initiatives; food and dining projects; and capitalizing a GRF at an under-resourced institution. This first white paper explores a student leader's role in the formation and implementation of GRFs on three campuses: Saint John’s University (Minnesota), Whitman College (Washington) and the University of Montana at Missoula. The paper highlights successful strategies employed by students at these institutions, as well as their personal stories about the path to creating a GRF on their campus, the types of projects they focused on, and the GRF's ability to offer new leadership and educational opportunities for environmentally or finance-minded students.
